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Old 04-11-2016, 10:06 PM   #1  
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Default I Guess I am a Food Addict

I have been trying to lose weight for 15 years. I lost 40lbs once and gained it back in the next few years. Recently I have gained 60lbs over three years. I try to change eating habits but I always find myself back at McDonalds or a convenience store buying junk. This has ruined so many aspects of my life. It is sad but junk food is my favorite part of the day. Recently I was diagnosed with pre diabetes. I tried to cut out junk food and exercise. It worked for a week then Easter hit and i have been eating candy and junk food since. I hate being a food addict. I tried to go to Food Addicts Anonymous, but I really do not like it. I do not know what to do and this has truly stole years away from me. Thanks for reading this everyone.
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Old 04-11-2016, 11:05 PM   #2  
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Default I know what you mean!

You are certainly amongst friends here! I just started my journey towards good health and far away as possible from sugar. I really understand how junk food is a favorite time of your day because I've felt that way many days, too. I'm just getting to the point where I am sick of feeling sick all the time!

I've read some really good books lately about getting off sugar and how to do it without feeling deprived. Some of my favorites are "Always Hungry" by David Ludwig, MD (read it all the way through in two afternoons - really good), "Eat Fat Lose Fat" by Dr. Mary Enig, "The Sugar Blockers Diet" by Ron Thompson, MD and "The Glycemic Load Diet Cookbook" by Ron Thompson, MD and Dana Carpender. These authors really delve into the process of why sugar (and fast carbs) set up the craving cycle and make us sick & fat. Their information comes from their own research and the research of others in the field or in academia. No "lose 10 pounds by tomorrow" stuff - just the facts.

Today I didn't crave sugar or bread and I didn't eat any, either!

Hope my good start gives you a little inspiration, too. :-)
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Old 04-11-2016, 11:31 PM   #3  
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I totally know how you feel and so does 80% of America seeing as most of us are overweight. I think one thing that helped me start making changes is changing the way I think of "dieting" and "healthy eating". I feel like people generally associate eating healthy with salads. Salads are sad and boring! But guess what, salads are NOT the only healthy food choices! I have lost 14lbs this past month and I did not eat one single salad. I researched and researched healthy recipe ideas on Pinterest and found ones that looked appetizing that I was excited about cooking. This way I got the diet mentality out of my head. I started making yummy protein smoothies to have for my breakfasts so that way I never have to think about what to prepare. And lunches are usually just leftover dinners.

Maybe you could try just saying no fast food this month, then next month say cut out all soda and candy, then the next cut out white carbs, etc. Sometimes baby steps helps.

My point is, find what works for YOU! No one diet fits every person. Losing weight and changing your lifestyle takes time and work. And most importantly, don't deprive yourself, maybe set one meal aside a week that you know you can have something you have bed craving.

Also When you start thinking about junk food and McDonald's, don't think "I can't have that" because that will make you want it more, say "I could totally go get that right now, but I'm choosing not to".

i read a quote that said "eating healthy is hard, being overweight is hard... Choose your hard". I know you've probably heard most of this before, but just know you're not alone. Good luck with everything
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Old 04-12-2016, 11:09 PM   #4  
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Thank you both for your responses.
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Old 04-13-2016, 12:03 PM   #5  
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I agree with everything everyone else has already said and will add that you need to try to change your perspective on some of the "bad foods". I just do not consider Mcd's or other places like it to be "food". In your head put it in the NOT FOOD category. For example, I do not eat seafood (allergic) so anything from the sea is not food. Place Mcd's in that category and you will not go there (have not eaten at a Mcd's for 19 years now - but I do like other fast food...). It REALLY is all in your head and how to choose to view things. ALSO, it helps to have fast alternatives (frozen dinners, meal bars etc) that you can have instead of the bad food. a 100 calorie snack bar is SOOO much better than a full fat chocolate bar or pastry.

My office gets take out several days a week. I stopped partaking and bring my own stuff to eat. Now they all wish they had done that too since they can see me shrinking.

Oh and you are not actually hungry again, it is your head messing with you! drink some water, go for a walk, do something/anything to get your mind off being hungry.
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Old 04-13-2016, 12:22 PM   #6  
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You ARE in good company here, I hear ya about feeling that this mindset has stolen years from us.

everyone above has given really good input, I don't have anything wise to add just that coming to 3FC does help me alot with the mental aspect of trying to think of helping our selves, not denying ourselves.

I have found some awesome instructors on youtube, on home workouts, even if I eat badly, I am proud of myself for completing a workout of some kind.

best wishes!!

_________

*Harriette - can I ask where you got your avatar from??? I had that book as a kid and I LOVED it, those fat little ponies!! I have not thought of them in 40 years
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Old 04-13-2016, 01:15 PM   #7  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by true85 View Post
It is sad but junk food is my favorite part of the day.
I think it's marvelous that you admit you are a food addict. Great step to take! The statement above is a very mindful observation, something that few people notice....being aware is half the battle. It is a clear indication of an emotional eating style.

Certain foods may be addicting for you (i.e., sugars/carbs or fast foods) - those foods are *DESIGNED* to trick your appetite. It is how junk gets sold to the public. The food companies tell us, "it's what the public wants!" But, that's a copout. Those foods are poison and a drug. What they are really doing is hijacking your senses - placing the bar too high for anything with less fat or less salt or less sugar - anything that is as nature intended. Chocolate, with its fat, dairy, sugar, caffeine - all providing a kind of drug-induced high or numb sensation that allows you to carry on for the moment without pain. The "fix" short-circuits the moment of discomfort just long enough to feel like it's "resetting" you. In the process, the message provided by the discomfort gets shunted and forgotten, and the mental habits that are contributing to the initial discomfort carry on...that is, you never learn from the moment.

What I tell myself is that I don't want to be a victim anymore - of the crimes perpetuated by the food marketing machine. I am not their sucker. I am better than that. I liken it to cocaine. I wouldn't put cocaine in my body, so why sugar? When essentially, it has a similar function? A way to hijack the brain - an unnatural sense of sweetness. I want what's real, what's natural, not to be hijacked to an unnatural state.

I'm going to suggest that you may not only have an addiction to food, but also to the process of eating. It may not just be the taste, but the pursuit. Dopamine is a naturally occurring chemical in your brain that encourages you to pursue pleasure. It's not the pleasure itself that provides the hit, but the pursuit, reliving the memory of a cherished taste sensation. When you're feeling particularly unmotivated, lacking in mental clarity or feeling apathetic, you may be using that dopamine surge to "fix" yourself. Getting the food is the pleasure, eating it is quick and easily forgotten. Half the time you're not even present to enjoy the taste.

I used to be a fast food addict. McDonalds for breakfast and dinner, Jack in the Box, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken - anywhere that had a drive thru, and was fast and easy. Getting out of the car was too much effort. I wanted my fix fast and I wanted it hard - as much as I could get. It would usually follow a bad day, and the statement, "I need this - I deserve this after what I just went through..." Enough to fill the black hole in my soul. But the bad days were nearly every day. 60 pounds later, I was mortified with my weight, and remained mortified for years, despite dropping the fast food habit.

And it IS a habit. Stopping the fast food habit was the easy part. I imagined cooking my meals at home, finding ways to hold out until I got there, no more binge eating episodes in my car on the way home from work. One day at a time - practicing cooking, allowing myself to be in the moment when I did. I hated cooking, but I started to appreciate the beautiful natural flavors of wholesome food - fruits, veggies, etc. It took a little while, but I managed. You set a precedent. One day becomes two days, becomes a whole week - you look back, and think, "I've come this far..." A week becomes a month. Eventually your brain forgets the detours you used to take. You just have to set the precedent; that precedent is what you fall back on when the urge arises again. Like addicts and their sobriety.

But, overeating on the other hand has taken me years...and for that, I suggest the following books:

Normal Eating for Normal Weight
, Sheryl Canter - From this book, I learned how to gauge my hunger on a scale. I learned how to separate physical hunger from emotional hunger, which is HUGE. When I would reach for food that I didn't physically need, I would stop and tell myself, "No." And then listen to the emotions that proceeded at that moment. I sat with the pain of the "no." Pain passes. Pain is beautiful. Without allowing ourselves to feel pain, we cannot feel the depth of true joy. My mantra at this time was, "You can fall, just don't fall into a bag of chips." It's okay to be overwhelmed by a feeling, and there's no need for the middle man (food) to express that.

Brain over Binge, Katherine Hansen - From this book I learned that I am the agent of my decisions. I learned that I have a lizard brain and that I don't need to analyze the neurological junk or the emotions in order to practice saying no to food. The more I practiced, the more my prefrontal cortex could grow and get stronger, like a muscle. It's all about habit. It further helped me to separate food from feelings.

Ditching Diets, Gillian Riley - From this book, I learned that I am free to eat anything I want, for any reason, at any time. I am also free to encounter the consequences of my decisions. Feeling free encourages me to feel free in my emotions. Being free to eat does not mean I need to prove it by eating anything and everything all the time. It means parenting myself in a self-compassionate way. I also learned about addictive desire, which is similar to the lizard brain. It further reinforced the separation of food and feelings.

Eating Less, Gillian Riley - The original book, precursor to Ditching Diets. More content.

Unconditional Parenting, Alfie Kohn - Although this is not a book about eating or weight, it has had the most profound effect on my life as a new parent and as a person. Anyone, with or without kids, would benefit from reading this book. It turns around the way we were parented and sheds light on the structure of our hierarchical society, how kids are treated as inferior, and how we grow up feeling that way as a result. The origins of good vs. bad, right vs. wrong, either/or, black and white thinking. Although not stated in the book, I make the correlation that the way we parent ourselves has a profound effect on how we view our bodies, food, and eating. Shame, self-downing, etc. is what we bring to the table, so to speak.

Eating in the Light of the Moon, Anita Johnston - I am currently listening to this audiobook. It has really opened my eyes...She addresses the nature of our hierarchical society - the patriarchic top-down structure, and further clarifies what I was suspecting above, in how that affects the way we view our bodies, food, and eating. She suggests re-balancing our tendency to linear/rational thinking with a more circular and intuitive approach, less aggressive, more compassionate - wholesome and holistic. She talks about the difference between domination vs. dominion (i.e., black/white thinking vs. inner/intuitive/cooperative thinking).

A lot of info...but, when I was looking for advice on how to get through this, I felt like that info was hard to find, except in books. I hope this helps you some.

Last edited by Mazzy; 04-13-2016 at 01:31 PM.
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Old 04-17-2016, 09:30 PM   #8  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mazzy View Post
I think it's marvelous that you admit you are a food addict. Great step to take! The statement above is a very mindful observation, something that few people notice....being aware is half the battle. It is a clear indication of an emotional eating style.

Certain foods may be addicting for you (i.e., sugars/carbs or fast foods) - those foods are *DESIGNED* to trick your appetite. It is how junk gets sold to the public. The food companies tell us, "it's what the public wants!" But, that's a copout. Those foods are poison and a drug. What they are really doing is hijacking your senses - placing the bar too high for anything with less fat or less salt or less sugar - anything that is as nature intended. Chocolate, with its fat, dairy, sugar, caffeine - all providing a kind of drug-induced high or numb sensation that allows you to carry on for the moment without pain. The "fix" short-circuits the moment of discomfort just long enough to feel like it's "resetting" you. In the process, the message provided by the discomfort gets shunted and forgotten, and the mental habits that are contributing to the initial discomfort carry on...that is, you never learn from the moment.

What I tell myself is that I don't want to be a victim anymore - of the crimes perpetuated by the food marketing machine. I am not their sucker. I am better than that. I liken it to cocaine. I wouldn't put cocaine in my body, so why sugar? When essentially, it has a similar function? A way to hijack the brain - an unnatural sense of sweetness. I want what's real, what's natural, not to be hijacked to an unnatural state.

I'm going to suggest that you may not only have an addiction to food, but also to the process of eating. It may not just be the taste, but the pursuit. Dopamine is a naturally occurring chemical in your brain that encourages you to pursue pleasure. It's not the pleasure itself that provides the hit, but the pursuit, reliving the memory of a cherished taste sensation. When you're feeling particularly unmotivated, lacking in mental clarity or feeling apathetic, you may be using that dopamine surge to "fix" yourself. Getting the food is the pleasure, eating it is quick and easily forgotten. Half the time you're not even present to enjoy the taste.

I used to be a fast food addict. McDonalds for breakfast and dinner, Jack in the Box, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken - anywhere that had a drive thru, and was fast and easy. Getting out of the car was too much effort. I wanted my fix fast and I wanted it hard - as much as I could get. It would usually follow a bad day, and the statement, "I need this - I deserve this after what I just went through..." Enough to fill the black hole in my soul. But the bad days were nearly every day. 60 pounds later, I was mortified with my weight, and remained mortified for years, despite dropping the fast food habit.

And it IS a habit. Stopping the fast food habit was the easy part. I imagined cooking my meals at home, finding ways to hold out until I got there, no more binge eating episodes in my car on the way home from work. One day at a time - practicing cooking, allowing myself to be in the moment when I did. I hated cooking, but I started to appreciate the beautiful natural flavors of wholesome food - fruits, veggies, etc. It took a little while, but I managed. You set a precedent. One day becomes two days, becomes a whole week - you look back, and think, "I've come this far..." A week becomes a month. Eventually your brain forgets the detours you used to take. You just have to set the precedent; that precedent is what you fall back on when the urge arises again. Like addicts and their sobriety.

But, overeating on the other hand has taken me years...and for that, I suggest the following books:

Normal Eating for Normal Weight
, Sheryl Canter - From this book, I learned how to gauge my hunger on a scale. I learned how to separate physical hunger from emotional hunger, which is HUGE. When I would reach for food that I didn't physically need, I would stop and tell myself, "No." And then listen to the emotions that proceeded at that moment. I sat with the pain of the "no." Pain passes. Pain is beautiful. Without allowing ourselves to feel pain, we cannot feel the depth of true joy. My mantra at this time was, "You can fall, just don't fall into a bag of chips." It's okay to be overwhelmed by a feeling, and there's no need for the middle man (food) to express that.

Brain over Binge, Katherine Hansen - From this book I learned that I am the agent of my decisions. I learned that I have a lizard brain and that I don't need to analyze the neurological junk or the emotions in order to practice saying no to food. The more I practiced, the more my prefrontal cortex could grow and get stronger, like a muscle. It's all about habit. It further helped me to separate food from feelings.

Ditching Diets, Gillian Riley - From this book, I learned that I am free to eat anything I want, for any reason, at any time. I am also free to encounter the consequences of my decisions. Feeling free encourages me to feel free in my emotions. Being free to eat does not mean I need to prove it by eating anything and everything all the time. It means parenting myself in a self-compassionate way. I also learned about addictive desire, which is similar to the lizard brain. It further reinforced the separation of food and feelings.

Eating Less, Gillian Riley - The original book, precursor to Ditching Diets. More content.

Unconditional Parenting, Alfie Kohn - Although this is not a book about eating or weight, it has had the most profound effect on my life as a new parent and as a person. Anyone, with or without kids, would benefit from reading this book. It turns around the way we were parented and sheds light on the structure of our hierarchical society, how kids are treated as inferior, and how we grow up feeling that way as a result. The origins of good vs. bad, right vs. wrong, either/or, black and white thinking. Although not stated in the book, I make the correlation that the way we parent ourselves has a profound effect on how we view our bodies, food, and eating. Shame, self-downing, etc. is what we bring to the table, so to speak.

Eating in the Light of the Moon, Anita Johnston - I am currently listening to this audiobook. It has really opened my eyes...She addresses the nature of our hierarchical society - the patriarchic top-down structure, and further clarifies what I was suspecting above, in how that affects the way we view our bodies, food, and eating. She suggests re-balancing our tendency to linear/rational thinking with a more circular and intuitive approach, less aggressive, more compassionate - wholesome and holistic. She talks about the difference between domination vs. dominion (i.e., black/white thinking vs. inner/intuitive/cooperative thinking).

A lot of info...but, when I was looking for advice on how to get through this, I felt like that info was hard to find, except in books. I hope this helps you some.


this is beyond helpful!! thankful for the information!

Last edited by qballmhh; 04-28-2016 at 10:21 PM.
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